Doing what you love to do

Today i got to thinking about Jen and I and the jobs that we work here at Liberty University. Seeing Jennifer go through the stress that she goes through on a daily basis working where she works, i'll admit, it's really hard for me because I really do enjoy and love my job at the Men's Basketball Office, which oftentimes leads me to feel very guilty because my wife clearly has the more difficulty to deal with when it comes to her job. Even today, i've been working on a project for one of the Assistant Coaches that is allowing me to utilize some of my creative abilities working with Microsoft Word. As i sit here, pondering why God would allow me to work a job that i absolutely love and why Jen has to work a job that is most definately not something she wants to pursue for the rest of her life, i thought about Jesus, and how He was a carpenter for many years before His public ministry started.

As i thought more and more today about Jen and I and how our jobs relate to what Jesus did for many years as a carpenter, i saw pretty clearly how even though Jennifer and I are in two different places when it comes to how we feel about our jobs, I think we are both going through what Jesus went through when He was working as a carpenter. I know that the Word of God doesn't say much about the period between when Jesus was 12 years old and He went to the Synagogue in Jerusalem and taught and when He started His earthly ministry, but I think the key to thinking about how Jesus experienced His life before His earthly ministry can be found in Hebrews 4 vs 15-"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to symphathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet was without sin."

Thinking about that passage, i realized that Jesus's temptation was not solely the account from Matthew 4, where the devil tempted Him 3 different times in the wilderness. No, i think that Jesus was tempted with the same struggles and feelings that you and I go through everyday with our jobs. Jesus i'm sure was tempted to get irritated and stressed out with a high workload, because after all, I'm sure Jesus was the best carpenter around and probably did alot of work in His community. I'm sure He felt the enjoyment that comes from doing a good job for someone and receiving their appreciation for a job well done. I'm sure He felt tired and weary at the end of a long day or work week, just like we do. I'm sure He felt temptation to have a negative attitude towards people that He came in contact with through His job, maybe somebody who was a jerk to Him with how He was doing a particular job. Looking at all those examples, it helped me come to a better understanding as to why Jennifer and I have, so far, had pretty different work experiences here at LU.

I've come to the realization that when it comes to work, each of us has our own path that has been assigned to us by the Lord. Ephesians 2 vs 10 states, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand, so that we may walk in them." Looking at Jennifer and I, we're both working the jobs that God has ordained for us to have at this given point in time. Even though it's hard to accept sometimes, right now, Jennifer is meant to experience what she is experiencing and I am meant to experience what I do when i work my job. I don't think God is punishing Jen and I don't think He is pouring out a special blessing on me for some reason, I just get the impression that at some points in our lives, we're going to be working in a job that brings us a great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment and othertimes we'll be working a job that brings much stress and irritation. Either way, looking to Jesus helps me to accept His strength and endurance when the times are tough and it also helps me to keep success and enjoyment on the job in the proper perspective.